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BUSH REEMERGES ON IMMIGRATION; GOP SHRUGS – David Nakamura and Ed O’Keefe write on A1 of the Washington Post: “Former president George W. Bush, who enjoyed healthy support among Latinos during his time in office, has broken a virtual five-year silence in national politics by calling on fellow Republicans to embrace immigration reform at a time when conservatives are rebelling against the idea. The question is: Is anyone listening? Judging from the immigration debate now roiling the House, probably not. Although Bush’s public approval ratings are on the rise, he is a fast-fading memory on Capitol Hill, where more than half of the 234 House Republicans arrived on the scene after he departed.

-- “Rep. Raúl R. Labrador (R-Idaho), who last month dropped out of bipartisan talks to develop a comprehensive House immigration bill, said Bush’s views would have little impact. ‘Anybody has to take an ex-president’s word seriously, but he’s just another voice on this issue. He’s not going to be the definitive voice’” Labrador said in an interview. He added that House lawmakers ‘are all independent actors here. We’re not little kids waiting for someone to tell us how to vote and act.’” http://wapo.st/18PhoOb

BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, HOUSE GOP STILL BALKS AT COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH -- The New York Times’ Ashley Parker and Jonathan Weisman report on A1: “Meeting for the first time as a group to hash out their approach to immigration, House Republicans on Wednesday came down overwhelmingly against a comprehensive overhaul of the nation’s immigration laws, putting in jeopardy the future of sweeping legislation that includes a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Despite the resistance, Speaker John A. Boehner warned about the steep price of inaction, telling House Republicans that they would be in a weaker political position against a bipartisan Senate coalition and President Obama if they did nothing to answer the immigration measure passed by the Senate last month. House Republicans huddled in a crucial two-and-a-half-hour session in the basement of the Capitol as their leaders tried to devise some response to the demand for immigration legislation, especially the Senate provision that would grant a path to citizenship for the 11 million undocumented immigrants already in the country. The bill also mandates tough border security provisions that must be in place before the immigrants can gain legal status.

-- “The bottom line was clear: The Republican-controlled House does not plan to take up anything resembling the Senate bill, which many believe is bad policy and smacks of an amnesty strongly opposed by the conservatives who hold sway over much of the rank and file.” http://nyti.ms/12G1dLH

-- HOUSE GOP LEADERSHIP has begun courting Democrats to see if they would back a piecemeal approach to immigration reform, Jake Sherman, Seung Min Kim and John Bresnahan report for POLITICO: “The legislation under discussion between Republicans and Democrats includes bills reworking the employment verification system and legislation to toughen border security, according to sources both involved in and familiar with the talks. In strategy sessions and planning meetings, Republicans have said that support for immigration reform is soft among GOP lawmakers — and leadership is skeptical that there is backing for anything more drastic than border security and E-verify.” http://politi.co/18aXz4u

**Traveling through 7 states in 7 days on the Rights and Responsibilities Tour, Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly met gun owners and non-gun owners who support common sense policies to reduce gun violence, like expanded background checks. Hear their stories at www.rightsandresponsibilitiestour.com.

DEMOCRATS DIVIDED -- Wall Street Journal, A6, “Disunion Hampers Senate Democrats,” By Corey Bowles: “Divisions among Democrats are complicating the party's way forward on several issues, as liberals in the Senate increasingly assert themselves. On Wednesday, Senate Democrats failed to pass a plan to reverse an increase in interest rates on certain federally subsidized student loans. The measure was championed by liberals in the Senate and backed by Majority Leader Harry Reid, but it differed from proposals from President Barack Obama and the House. One Senate Democrat and one independent lawmaker who generally votes with the majority party helped block the measure by joining with Republicans. The two had negotiated a separate proposal with a handful of Senate Republicans that was more in line with those backed by the House and Mr. Obama.

-- “Additional divisions are likely to arise on Thursday, as Senate Democrats meet to discuss a plan to strip Republicans of their most important tool for blocking Mr. Obama's executive-branch nominations. Mr. Reid is trying to rally support among Democrats to bar the use of filibusters to stop certain confirmation votes. The change would mean that instead of the 60 votes needed to end a filibuster, these confirmations could be approved by a simple majority. The change would only apply to executive-branch nominees, not to judicial appointments or to pieces of legislation. Banning filibusters would be a major change to Senate procedures, and Mr. Reid will need the backing of almost every member of his caucus to make the change. Some in his party remained unconvinced of its need.” http://on.wsj.com/15iBjjb

TOP SILICON VALLEY EXECS DONATE TO HONDA PRIMARY CHALLENGER – Cameron Joseph writes for The Hill: “Some of the biggest players in the U.S. tech industry are writing big checks for the Democrat challenging Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.), helping the newcomer to a huge fundraising edge over Silicon Valley’s longtime congressman. Former Obama administration official Ro Khanna (D) raised a whopping $1 million in the first three months of his campaign against Honda, a substantial haul for a rookie candidate. … Much of the fundraising haul came from major donors to President Obama. They include: Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff, Napster founder Sean Parker, venture capitalist Marc Andreessen and technology entrepreneur Mike McCue. … Honda raised $345,000 over the same three-month period, his campaign announced Wednesday afternoon … less than a third of what Khanna brought in. Obama has officially endorsed Honda and Vice President Biden recently made a campaign pit stop for the longtime congressman.” http://bit.ly/131qsLN

-- NEWARK MAYOR CORY BOOKER raked in a whopping $4.6 million in three months for his Senate bid in New Jersey: http://politi.co/15izcvK

THE ROGERS REPORT: HOUSE TRIES AGAIN ON FARM BILL – “Rolling the dice, House Republicans are calling for floor votes early Thursday on a pared-back farm bill that strips out nutrition programs to appease conservatives and reduces the net 10-year costs to about $195.6 billion,” David Rogers reports. “Working into Wednesday night, the leadership redoubled its efforts to line up the 218 votes to avoid a repeat of last month’s collapse. But the whole strategy remains a political high-wire act that has split the agriculture community, solidified Democratic opposition and already prompted a White House veto threat.” http://politi.co/131waND

-- The House late last night passed a $30 billion energy and water spending bill on a 227-198 vote, but President Obama has threatened to veto it saying it cuts too deeply into renewable energy and science research, The Hill reports. http://bit.ly/15iAbMk

GOOD THURSDAY MORNING, July 11, 2013, and welcome to The Huddle, your play-by-play preview of the day’s congressional news. Send tips, suggestions, comments, complaints and corrections to swong@politico.com. If you don't already, please follow me on Twitter @scottwongDC.

My new followers include @Alankota and @acgedan.

TODAY IN CONGRESS – The Senate meets at 10 a.m. and will recess for party caucus lunches from 12:30 to 2:15 p.m. No votes are currently scheduled. The House meets at 9 a.m. with first votes expected between 10:30 and 11 a.m. and last votes expected between 12:30 and 1:30 p.m. on the farm bill.

AROUND THE HILL – Reps. Bobby Rush and Danny Davis speak on urban violence at 10 a.m. in HVC Studio B. Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi holds her weekly press conference at 10:45 a.m. in HVC Studio A. Speaker John Boehner follows in the same location at 11:30 a.m. Rep. Jackie Speier attends a Results for Life briefing to educate Hill staff and other stakeholders on the value of genetic and genomic testing, at noon in Cannon 122. Also at noon, Sen. Bob Corker gives a speech on Authorization for Use of Military Force at the Woodrow Wilson Center. Rep. Luis Gutierrez and immigration reform advocates hold a conference call on immigration at 1 p.m. Call: 877-888-4319 Code: immigration.

POLITICO, “Reid Just Can’t Help But Feel Sorry For Boehner,” By Burgess Everett: “In [Harry] Reid’s view, the speaker has a restive Republican Conference full of ‘crazies’ holding him tightly to a requirement that a majority of Republicans support everything that comes to the floor, which is ‘bad for the country.’ Each of his bills are often, by necessity, a ‘love note to the tea party,’ Reid says, and the Democratic leader wonders whether Boehner ‘or anyone else in the Republican leadership in the House really [knows] what they’re doing.’ It’s almost enough to dampen the Senate majority leader’s eyes in sympathy for Boehner, who has been known to shed a few tears himself. Almost. ‘I guess I feel sorry for the speaker,’ Reid told reporters Tuesday, citing the immigration, farm, water infrastructure and Internet sales tax bills that have run into trouble in the House. Reid isn’t criticizing Boehner personally, aides insist. He’s instead making the case that Boehner is a nice guy who just isn’t in charge of things. And they don’t believe Democrats are risking any negotiating capital either.” http://politi.co/13PSXhk

CONGRESS LASHES OUT OVER SPYING TESTIMONY– Peter Wallsten reports on A1 of the Washington Post: “Lawmakers tasked with overseeing national security policy say a pattern of misleading testimony by senior Obama administration officials has weakened Congress’s ability to rein in government surveillance. Members of Congress say officials have either denied the existence of a broad program that collects data on millions of Americans or, more commonly, made statements that left some lawmakers with the impression that the government was conducting only narrow, targeted surveillance operations. The most recent example came on March 12, when James R. Clapper, director of national intelligence, told the Senate Intelligence Committee that the government was not collecting information about millions of Americans. He later acknowledged that the statement was ‘erroneous’ and apologized, citing a misunderstanding.” http://wapo.st/1dmckyu

BOSTON BOMBING SUSPECT PLEADS NOT GUILTY; ‘GAPS’ IN INTEL SHARING – Billy Kenber reports for WaPo: “The teenager who allegedly helped detonate two bombs at the finish line of this year's Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring more than 260, pleaded not guilty to terrorism charges during a court appearance Wednesday in Boston. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, who faces 30 counts, including murder and use of a weapon of mass destruction resulting in death, made his first public appearance since his arrest April 19. … Mr. Tsarnaev's court appearance came hours after Boston police commissioner Edward Davis III called for federal authorities, including the FBI, to share more information on terrorism threats with local police. Addressing the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Mr. Davis said Boston police were never told that Tamerlan Tsarnaev had traveled to Russia, and he said there was a ‘gap’ in intelligence sharing. ‘I think that if there is information that comes in about a terrorist threat to a particular city, the local officials should have that information,’ he said.” http://bit.ly/13PPzTL

THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS -- NYT, A1, “Young, Rich and Relocating Yet Again in Hunt for Political Office,” By Raymond Hernandez in Shokan N.Y.: “This is the story of how one young couple came to the Hudson Valley with a fortune and big political dreams. Two years ago, Sean Eldridge and his husband, the Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes, bought a $5 million estate in Garrison, about 50 miles north of New York City. It offered 80 acres of rolling fields and a farmhouse once owned by a Vanderbilt. It would also allow Mr. Eldridge, 26, to run for the local Congressional seat if he chose to. But that seat appeared unattainable, and soon the couple’s gaze shifted north, to the neighboring district on the other side of the Hudson River. In January, they bought a $2 million modern home here overlooking a reservoir, laying the groundwork for Mr. Eldridge’s campaign for their new local Congressional seat, New York’s 19th. …

-- “But his ambitions have puzzled some residents among the farmers, mill workers and small-business owners who populate this district, which rises through the Catskills and rolls north through cornfields and apple orchards to the Vermont border. … Mr. Eldridge and Mr. Hughes are among the most politically active of a new generation of entrepreneurs who gained their fortunes in Silicon Valley. Mr. Hughes, who left Facebook with about $500 million, oversaw online organizing for President Obama’s 2008 campaign and has since bought The New Republic. The two men helped raise tens of thousands of dollars for Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and his push for same-sex marriage. But Congressional campaigns, especially in upstate New York, can be very personal contests, built on longstanding relationships and local perceptions. And it may be hard to dislodge the incumbent, Representative Chris Gibson, a well-liked Republican and veteran of the Iraq war who lives in a modest home around the corner from where he grew up.” http://nyti.ms/17672W6

BACKERS CALL ON FILNER TO RESIGN OVER SEXUAL HARRASSMENT CLAIMS – Craig Gustafson writes for U-T San Diego: “Three of Mayor Bob Filner’s biggest supporters, including former City Councilwoman Donna Frye, have called on him to resign over allegations of sexual harassment. Frye and local attorneys Cory Briggs and Marco Gonzalez each sent letters to Filner this week asking him to step down. The trio declined to answer questions until they hold a joint news conference at 10 a.m. Thursday. The resignation requests from Frye and Gonzalez were first reported by KPBS, which posted copies of the letters Wednesday afternoon, while Briggs posted his online earlier in the day. In Frye’s letter to Filner, she asked him to do the ‘honorable thing’ and resign in response to the allegations.” http://bit.ly/12oy0Zd

WEDNESDAY’S TRIVIA WINNER – Ross Kapilian was first to correctly answer that Hillary Clinton, the former first lady, and John Hay, a former aide to President Lincoln, both lived in the White House before serving as secretary of State. Many of you guessed John Quincy Adams, but it appears he was serving as a foreign diplomat for much of his father’s administration and did not live at the newly built White House full time, though he may have briefly stayed there.

TODAY’S TRIVIA – Floyd Gilzow, reading Huddle from Columbia, Mo., has today’s question: What three U.S. “presidents” once called Missouri home? The first person to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day’s Huddle. Email me at swong@politico.com.

GET HUDDLE emailed to your Blackberry, iPhone or other mobile device each morning. Just enter your email address where it says “Sign Up.” http://www.politico.com/huddle/

**On our six-month anniversary this week, Americans for Responsible Solutions was proud to announce we’ve added 500,000 members. Our members know that responsible gun ownership is part of what makes us Americans, but recent tragedies show America is not doing enough to keep its citizens safe. We know that doing nothing while others are in danger is not the American way. We're mobilizing support to push the U.S. Senate to take another vote on expanded background check legislation, and in every stop of the 7-day, 7-state Rights and Responsibilities Tour, citizens told us they wanted action to keep weapons out of the hands of criminals and the dangerously mentally ill. From Nevada, Alaska, North Dakota, Ohio, New Hampshire, Maine and North Carolina, hear the voices of the Americans who are standing with Gabby Giffords, Mark Kelly and Americans for Responsible Solutions at www.rightsandresponsibilitiestour.com **